Everybody's mouth...literally dropped; mines included.

"W-wait, Thiago?! Why are you here? Wait, put me down first!" I frailed a bit until I was finally back on my own two feet. I whipped around to face the six-feet tall guy with sun-kissed skin that can have any girl drooling.

Okay, okay!

I was one of those girls for some time.

I mean who wouldn't?

He's got the body of a damn god with an eight-pack right under that tank-tops he loves to wear during casual time in public. Even during the winter time, the long-sleeved sweaters he wears hugs those biceps so perfectly. His hair was always neatly cut and those glowing eyes captivate you the moment you so much as glance into them.

On top of all of that, he has a huge heart and is a complete sweetheart.

And God, his smile.

"God DAYUM!" I closed my eyes in embarrassment at Cana's sudden holler.

"Surprise!" He laughed before sending a smile in her direction. "Coach Makarov told me to wait after the game to come out but I couldn't."

"Come back here, boy! You're in the middle of it!" Coach suddenly yelled.

Thiago chuckled. "Well, I'll be on the bench waiting for you." He jogged towards Coach without another word.

"Wait for me, instead!" Cana tried to make a mad rush towards him but I grabbed her just in time. I don't know if she's drunk or not but I do remember she might be a little boy-crazy.

That's an understatement.

"I apologize for that."

"Is he the Thiago Lily?" Juvia came up to me.

"It's Rosa, Juvia." I groaned. "And yeah...that's him."

"Oh my..." Juvia stole another look but I didn't miss the glare Gray had trained on her.

"He's so much...HOTTER IN PERSON!" Cana yelled.

Someone save her, please.

"Who's Thiago Lily Rosa?" Natsu interjected.

Oh no.

There's too much going on right now. First Thiago somehow teleport from Spain to Magnolia and sitting on the bench with the rest of the Fairy Tail subs just talking to them like he belongs here. Second: I'm almost positive Natsu doesn't know Thiago's and my history. If anyone here opened their mouths then whatever little baby steps we just took will be completely thrown off course.

Erza, who seemed to be the first female to have recovered from my friend's sudden appearance, demanded we get into position right away.

The rest of the half went on with us scoring two more goals so we ended with 4-1. Halftime came and we all jogged over to Erza for a quick team meeting before moving over to Coach.

"We started off a little rocky but for now, we're doing pretty good. Just keep it up for another 30. Now go on, take your break. And Cana, hands off Thiago."

Cana groaned. "You always ruin my fun."

And I want to get out of Natsu's personal bubble as soon as possible before he starts asking questions or anyone dare answer the questions. I glared at each of the girls standing in the huddle to make sure they got the message. I know Erza won't slip up but I'm not so sure about Juvia or Cana. Levy is out sick so I don't have to worry about that loose end either.

"I just don't get what the big deal is." Gray mumbled, crossing his arms. "He's probably not even that good at soccer."

"He plays for U20 Barcelona team." Jellal quickly answered. "So yeah, he probably is good at soccer."

Gray just mumbled under his breath.

Aww poor guy. Probably feeling jealous but Juvia isn't going anywhere. She worked so hard to win his heart, she isn't just gonna leave it that easy.

"Okay so he plays for Barcelona but why is he here?" Natsu asked. "Right now? In our breathing space?"

He looked at me for the answer.

Well, no use hiding it now. "He's a good friend of mines when I first moved to Barcelona. We often trained together. As for why he's here, I'm going to go find out."

I don't think Natsu is jealous as much as he is not liking some random in Fairy Tail's territory. I turned on my heel and walked toward my friend who was still getting flaunted on by the other female teammates. I accepted the towel from one of the other managers and wiped my face down real quick.

Thiago might only be a friend but I still don't want to smell like a stinky sock around him.

"Lucy! Huddle time over?" Thiago's eyes lit up the moment he saw me coming his way. "Excuse me ladies."

They all sent me a death glare as the handsome giant made his way over to me.

"Yeah we get like a ten minute break I think." I responded.

"Good 'cause I forgot to do this."

"Do what?" I blinked.

His lips were suddenly on my cheek, surprising me even though I know it's just a way Europeans and Brazilians greet each other. Here in Magnolia...a kiss on the cheek means something else completely.

So the gasps from those around us are completely understandable.

But I can't be rude so I quickly kiss his cheek back as my way of greeting.

Then, without giving me time to breath, he pulled me into a crushing bear hug. "Ahh! I miss you so much since you just up and left without a goodbye."

"She does that often." Natsu's voice was so close to my ears all of a sudden and I sprang away from the hug, almost right into his chest.

"Dragneel, huh?" Thiago never lost his smile. "So you're the Natsu 'Salamander' Dragneel then?"

"That is my name."

"It's nice to finally meet you." Thiago held out a hand for Natsu to shake.

The man never took it.

"Why are you here? Can't you see this is a private practice?" Natsu demanded right away.

"Well, I contacted Coach Makarov asking if I can sit in for a practice and he said it was okay." Thiago's eyes narrowed a bit and he dropped his hand. "I got some special permission."

Natsu opened his mouth but shut it right away. He lost whatever he's trying to prove here.

"Is everything okay here?" Lisanna has now joined the fray.

Great.

"Yeah." Natsu grabbed Lisanna's hand and dragged her away with her yelling 'wait' right behind him.

"Tough crowd." Thiago sighed.

I matched his action. "I'm sorry about him."

"You weren't wrong about him being hot-headed though. What was that tackle on you earlier?" Thiago sat down on the bench.

I shrugged before joining him. "I honestly don't know but it's not like I didn't deserve it."

"You didn't though. After all that you've done for him, that's not a way to repay it." My friend said.

"Yeah but he doesn't know, remember?" I hugged my knee up to my chest. "It's best it stays that way."

Thiago shook his beautiful head. "No it isn't. You worked extra hard to get all that money for him. The way he's acting with you is unacceptable."

"Natsu is a prideful guy. If he ever found out I paid for all his treatments, he'd hate me even more than he already does. I've broken the bridge we made together as a couple and we've only started building a new one for friendship. I don't want to make that one collapse either."

"But lying to him is okay?"

I shook my head. "He doesn't even know. Nobody knows, alright? I just made sure it was as secretive as possible. The head of the financial center at the hospital was kind enough to keep it under wraps so nobody knows. I'm not lying, really. Just not exposing the real thing that happened."

Thiago just shook his head slowly. I know he doesn't agree with my methods of what I did in the past but I can't let Natsu know. It'll just screw everything up. Like I said before, I'm happy with just watching him spend the rest of his days married to Lisanna because she was actually there for him when he needed her the most.

"And while you're here, pretend you haven't actually been in Magnolia before."

"You're asking me to lie to your friends?" Thiago raised an eyebrow.

"Please."

He sighed. "Whatever you say, Celestial Striker."

"Thanks." I pulled him into a hug this time because I know how Thiago is. Asking him to do anything is already a handful enough and if it wasn't for him, I don't think I would never been able to pull myself out of my funk in the past.

He truly is a good friend.

"Well, I better get going. I'll see you after practice and we can go to that restaurant you like so much." I stood up, dropping my towel in his lap. "Now, just enjoy the presence of all these women around you while I go flop around a bit more."

Thiago chuckled. "You don't flop. You fly. Now go have fun."

~

Natsu Dragneel

Thiago Rosa.

Who does he think he is?

Just sitting on OUR bench during OUR practice like he belongs here. He doesn't belong here!

Not to mention him just going around kissing our girls.

Well, he only kissed one...

That one was enough.

And what's the deal with all these girls running around trying to impress him. He's not goddamn Messi!

Well, he does play on the same FC as him.

But never mind that!

What the hell is wrong with me though? The moment I saw him kiss Lucy's cheek, I just lost complete control of my entire body. The words that came out of my mouth were carefully chosen. I just can't shake this stupid feeling in my body the entire time she sat and talked to him.

It looked so natural and normal that it made my heart churned.

Ugh!

Why is this happening to me...again?

"Alright, my children! Come to me for parting huddle!"

I stood up from my stretching position and started walking in Coach's direction.

"Hey babe." Lisanna was at my side out of nowhere. "You look distracted."

"Do I?" I asked.

"Yeah. Ever since Thiago over there showed up." She inclined her head in his direction.

Just the sound of his name is enough to make me grind my teeth.

"I just don't like how he's in our territory and just acting like it's his."

"That's it?" my wife asked.

"Yeah." I turned to her. "What else would it be?"

"I don't know." She laughed, nervously. "I just thought you'd feel uncomfortable with him being so close to Lucy that's all."

"Lucy can talk to whoever she wants for all I care. As much as I'm not her biggest fan, I hope she does find that someone. Even if it's Mr. Way-Too-Perfect over there."

Lisanna nodded once. "Right."

"What? You think I'm jealous or something?" I snapped.

She held her hands up in defense. "I didn't say anything."

I gotta get myself under control. This frustration I keep feeling almost hurt Lucy earlier and it's making me snap at my loving wife. I can't go around acting like this. Especially with this upcoming season.

"I'm sorry. Just not in my right state of mind." I threw my arm around her shoulders as we walked the rest of the way to the Coach.

He closed it out simply: eat right and show up on time for practice tomorrow. That one was directed at all the girls that were in the locker rooms early. He dismissed us with our normal chant.

"Lucy! Not coming to the locker room?" Erza called after the blonde. She was on the track heading towards Thiago.

My teeth clenched as my ex shook her head. "One of the managers were nice enough to grab my stuff so I'm just going to leave with Thiago from here."

"Okay. Sounds good." Erza nodded. "See you guys at the restaurant."

Wait what?

"Yeah, remember 7 sharp!" She called after the group of girls.

"I can't wait!" Cana yelled over her shoulder.

Wow.

They're all going out to dinner and we weren't invited.

That hurts just a bit more.

"Well, we better go get ready, too."

"Ready for what?"

"The dinner, duh." Lisanna said.

"We weren't invited, though." I responded, confused."

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"Well, because it's Lucy."

"Look, I might be mad at Lucy for what she did to you but she was brave enough to come up to me after the game and ask us to dinner so we're going." Lisanna said.

I blinked. "I'm not going."

"Really? Why not?" My wife stopped as I packed up my duffel. "Unless, you really don't want to see her with Thiago and you lied to me."

"What? No!" I lied.

I honestly do wish Lucy to be happy but I don't want to witness it. I know that would be way too much for me to handle even after she left me so vulnerable.

"Then you'd have no problem going." Lisanna slung her bag over her shoulder and passed me our car keys. "We better hurry though. If Erza makes it there before us, we'd never hear the end of it."